Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Thai Green Curry and Panna Cotta

Justin and Claui cooked an amazing meal for my birthday dinner. They had made this Thai Green Curry for us back in January and I had immediately requested it for my birthday. 

There's not a recipe, as such but the essentials for this very large amount (it fed five of us with leftovers for probably five more) are 6 oz. (1 and 1/2 cans) of Maesri brand green curry paste and a 19 oz. can of Mae Ploy coconut milk -- both available at most Asian markets.

The various ingredients - red and yellow peppers, garlic and onions, chopped eggplant, boneless chicken breasts -- were sauteed in  separate batches and each seasoned to taste with the curry paste, some coconut milk, and a little chicken broth.

The sauteed elements were combined and the tiny corn on the cobs added along with more of the curry, coconut milk and broth. The snow peas went in last just to barely heat. They should remain crisp.
 
The whole glorious mess was served over basmati rice. There were condiments -- toasted almond slivers, lime slices, hot peppers in vinegar, chopped cilantro, and crispy fried chopped garlic.  On the side there was also a simple carrot/red cabbage slaw, seasoned with lime juice and hot sauce.

Yes, we like our food hot and spicy -- and after all there was plenty of champagne to cool us off.


For dessert Claui made a delectable panna cotta (From Ina Garten -- and there's a real recipe --just click the link.)  Cool and smooth and vanilla-y with a drift of lemon zest and a surround of strawberries blessed by a touch of sugar and basalmic vinegar. The perfect complement to the flavors of the curry.


How good was it? So good that we gobbled it up before I thought to take a picture -- this was taken from the recipe site. 


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19 comments:

Tess Kincaid said...

Hey, Happy Birthday!!! This Thai dish looks amazing. I want one of those huge woks! I used to have a smaller one, but it bit the dust years ago.

Love-love Ina. Isn't she the best?

Martin said...

What fabulous feast. I was raising a virtual glass of bubbly in your honour, by the way.

joanna said...

Vicki:

The food Looked interesting cooking in that big wok, so does the company keep around the dinner for the big feast nonetheless I was lured in and could not resist---
Happy Birthday!

Joanny

Pat in east TN said...

Boy, that sounds like quite a meal, and I love that HUGE wok! Hope you had a nice time, and again, Happy Birthday!!

Carol Murdock said...

And a good time was had by all! :)

Vicki Lane said...

Willow -- I got the big wok at an Asian market -- it's wonderful! I've also used it to make jambalaya for a crowd.

And thanks, all for the birthday wishes!

KarenB said...

Happy, happy day, Vicki! How lovely to be surrounded by family and friends and to be presented with a fabulous meal. Many happy returns!

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

Happy birthday Vicki. What a wonderful curry they made for you. Your wok looks as loved as mine, but much larger.

I've never made Panna Cotta. Yours is gorgeous. Ina's recipes always work for me.

Again, happy birthday and I hope you have many more.
Sam

NCmountainwoman said...

We once went to a Tai restaurant with some friends and decided to order several dishes to share. Our friend order the 5-alarm stuff and there wasn't enough champagne in the world to cool it down enough for me. I've tried Ina's recipe for Panna Cotta and it was wonderful, not to mention a beautiful presentation.

Kaye Wilkinson Barley - Meanderings and Muses said...

Vicki - Happy Belated Birthday!! WHAT a feast! Oh my - everything looks and sounds scrumptious.

Stella Jones said...

Happy Birthday Vicki. Looks like you had a wonderful evening. I love the huge Wok! My goodness that holds a lot of food.
Take care now.
Blessings, Star

Vicki Lane said...

Many thanks all round, you all!

Kathryn Stripling Byer said...

Vicki, you must be a Pisces like our daughter. Hers is the 19th. Happy Birthday. I love green curry. What a great way to celebrate!

Pame Recetas said...

Loved your place, loved you and all this wonderful recipes you shared on this post. I need to come back ASAP. from now on I'll be looking for your novels, which might be a hard task on a Spanish speaking country as mine. I'll let you know. And , by the way: Happy Birthday

Vicki Lane said...

Oh, yes, Kay -- I'm a Pisces with all the weirdness!

Welcome Pamela -- a visitor from Chile -- it feels rather special! Do come back. I've made the trip to your blog and very much liked what I saw!

Vagabonde said...

Happy belated birthday! It looks like you had fun and the food sounds very yummy. It is nice that you could celebrate it with friends. My husband does not cook and I don’t like to cook for my birthday so we usually go out somewhere. For his birthday we went to Florida, his birthday was 2nd February, and for my birthday … well, I am not sure where we’ll go, somewhere in the Southeast I guess, or just Atlanta. My map is open and my car is ready, so who knows where we’ll be at the end of March for a couple of days to celebrate (my birthday is March 26.) I’d rather eat a great curry like the one you showed though and I am going to check that panna cotta recipe.

Vicki Lane said...

Hi, Vagabonde -- I'm so fortunate to have all these great cooks in the family. And with the weather the way it usually is around my birthday, I really prefer staying home.

Now you, with all of Atlanta to choose from, can probably get just about any cuisine you might desire.

I haven't made the panna cotta yet but Claui said it was very easy. And the recipe looks foolproof.

Tipper said...

Looks and sounds like it was a yummy yummy meal-glad you enjoyed it!!

Merisi said...

Happy Belated Birthday, Vicki!

What a feast!

Your wok does look as if it indeed can hold food for a dozen.